Mechanism for use in decorticating fibers



TZ/Hai' Filed Nov. 4, 1937 MECHANISM FOR USE IN DECORTICATING FIBERS- April 25, 1939.

J. J. MARCZAK, GENERALLY KNOWN AS J. J MARTZ Patented Apr. 25, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE NIECHANISM FOR USE IN DECORTICATING FIBERS Application November 4, 1937, Serial No. 172,707

3 Claims.

My invention relates to steps in decortication and to a decorticating machine capable of use upon stalks of considerable variety in which the fibers lie within a tube which is either hollow or is filled with some light pith only.

One purpose of my invention is to s'lit the side walls of the tube containing the textile fibers and progressively to open up the tube until it can be flattened out by pressure devices such as rollers into a development of the tube.

A further purpose of the invention is to pass a stalk containing fibers in tubular form longitudinally with respect to a slitting knife and subsequently to spread the edges thus slit and crush the developed tube between rolls.

A further purpose is longitudinally to slit a tube containing textile fibers and to use the side walls of the slitting knife progressively to wedge apart the slit edges, subsequently feeding these opened edges over a developing curved surface to spread the tube out in a low arch, starting the stalks by pushing them but subsequently drawing the tubes through by flattening rollers.

A further purpose is to force a tubular stalk, such as a ramie stalk butt end foremost between spring clips that hold the stalk in position and press it downwardly while the stalk is being split from the bottom, subsequently to spread the edges adjacent the slit tube of the stalk by adjacent walls with which they engage while at the same time holding the tube down against these walls by an engaging surface against which the middle of the stalk makes contact.

Further purposes will appear in the specification and in the claims.

The invention relates to the methods involved as well as to mechanism by which the methods may be carried out.

I have preferred to illustrate one form only of the invention, selecting a form which is practical and eifective and which has been selected primarily because of its excellence in illustration of the principles involved.

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the preferred structure used by me. Flattening rolls have been omitted.

Figure 2 is a sectional elevation of the structure of Figure 1 taken upon line 2-2.

Figures 3, 4, and 5 are transverse sections taken upon Figure 2, upon lines 33, 44 and 55.

Figure 6 is a perspective of a block carrying a slitting knife and adjacent guiding surfaces.

Figure 7 is a bottom plan view of the block of Figure 6.

Figure 8 is a longitudinal section taken upon line 88 in Figure 4 showing the shape of the guiding surfaces.

Figure 9 is a fragmentary side elevation of the preferred structure showing the nozzle in extended position with flattening rollers diagrammatically represented.

Figures 10, 11 and 12 are diagrammatic views showing the progressive development of the tubular surface.

Stalks of ramie comprise thin outer bark and an intermediate fiber shell or tube often nearly empty but containing some soft pith core. It has presented a problem in decortication, which problem seems not fully to have been solved.

The difficulty in separating the fiber has been great enough to interfere seriously with the textile use of an otherwise excellent textile plant.

The structure seen in the figures is the first mechanism used in the process of decortication and performs the important preliminary steps of opening up the tubular fiber and flattening and crushing it in its developed form.

Describing the construction shown:

Upon any suitable base 15 are mounted the guiding, slitting and wall-separating devices used by me, and found to be of especial value in treating ramie. The tube I6 performs a guiding function and stalks of ramie are fed through it, one at a time. They may be fed by hand.

Upon the forward end of the tube I6 is located a split outlet nozzle ll, the low part of which, I8, is rigidly fastened to the tube or to the support. This portion l8 covers a portion, in the illustration approximately half, of the circumference of the front of the tube, forming a tapered internal guide for the ramie stalks.

The upper part IQ of the nozzle is also tapered and as illustrated forms approximately the other half of the guiding surface, cooperating with the lower portion 18 to completely surround a stalk of ramie of size corresponding for instance to the smallest section of the guide at 20 so that between them the parts l9 and 20 afford a tubular guide for the stalk.

Because the stalks vary considerably in size and because it is desirable to hold the stalk in position to be slitted by a knife, hereinafter described, the tubular guide at its front end delib erately is made smaller than the larger stalks.

The smaller stalks are found to be centered reasonably even where they do not fully fill the guide. The larger stalks are permitted to pass through the opening and are firmly supported during their passage through by reason of resilient mounting for one or both of the guide members l8 and I!) which allows the parts relatively to separate and open the nozzle. Because opening of one only of these parts has proved sufficient, and because it is more convenient to open that one farther from the support than the other, the member l9 only is shown as transversely movable.

Resilience and upward spring-restrained movement of the upper guide member 19 are secured by mounting the upper member by means of a spring 2| which in the illustration extends along the top of the tubular guide member l6 and are held in position on it by set screws 22.

Several threaded openings 23 are shown at varying distances within the top of the guide iii, any one of which is adapted to receive these set screws 22' so that the relative rigidity or amount of spring of the upper guiding nozzle l9 may be adjusted as desired by selecting the proper strength of spring and a suitable opening.

The two parts l8 and I9 thus provide a tapered guiding nozzle through which small stalks can pass without pressure but in which the larger stalks are held in place between the two relatively movable parts l8 and I9 of the nozzle by yielding resistance to the passage of the larger stalks.

As the stalks are pushed through, one at a time, they engage a knife 24 mounted upon a block 25, which knife is radially set and extends longitudinally in position to slit the lower part of the tubular stalk without slitting the upper part. The edge 26 of the knife does the cutting and the sides of the knife at 21 and 28 thicken progressively forwardly (considered in the direction of stalk travel) so that the edges of the tubular stalk at the out are forced apart with forward movement of the stalk.

The thickened sides of the knife merge into the fillets 29 and 30 of progressively flattening curved surfaces 3| and 32. As the stalk 33 progresses forwardly the slitted sides are separated more and more, through the shapes shown in Figures 10, 11 and 12 until the side slopes 34 and 35 extend outwardly and downwardly from the central portion 35, the textile fiber shell forming the interior at 31 and the bark the exterior at 38. The pitch has been omitted in these views.

During the development of the front end of the stalk the under surface 39 of a bridge 40 may be used to flatten the arch formed but this is not needed when the front arched end is gripped by preferably rubber rolls 4| and 42 which then draw the rest of the stalk through the mechanism and flatten it; and may be used to crush it to any extent desired.

In operation the individual stalks are pushed through from the rear against the knife and beyond the knife to and over wedging and forming surfaces which separate the cut edges of the individual stalks to a point where they approximate in cross section low arches shown in Figure 12. They are pushed far enough beyond this point to be caught by the rollers 4| and 42. From this time on they are both guided and pulled by the rollers which perform the multiple function of further flattening the individual stalks and of crushing them little or much as may be intended in the decortication of the particular fiber in question. Though the invention is well suited to treat ramie I have no thought that this is the only fiber with which it will be found to be useful.

The development of the tubular stalk into a flat sheet in itself tends to separate the bark from the layer of fiber interior to it and this partial separation may be used as preliminary to further decorticating steps.

I have found rubber or rubber covered rolls to be excellent for the rolls 4| and 42 because they are inexpensive, may readily be formed with any degree of roughening or special surfacing desired and grip the fibers to great advantage.

However, it is not my intention to restrict the invention to the use of any such material.

The pith has been disregarded in the above treatment. Whether it fall out in the cutting and developing operations of the mechanisms above described, be scrubbed out by the wedge surfaces with which engagement is made or pass on in part to and through between the rollers 4| and .42 makes little difference in the result attained. It is not attached to the interior of the tubular fiber layer and its separation therefrom, even if some of it pass between the rollers, presents no problem.

It will be evident that the method and apparatus above easily and effectively splits and develops the tubing into a flat sheet in which it can be treated during the subsequent decorticating steps to much better advantage than can the tubular pith-containing fiber in its natural form.

It will be evident that I have shown a single piece of apparatus only where very obviously a plurality of guiding tubes, knives and developing surfaces may operate upon different tubes at the same time so that the single individual piece of apparatus shown may form a part only of a larger mechanism.

In view of my invention and disclosure variations and modifications to meet individual whim or particular need will doubtless become evident to others skilled in the art to obtain all or part of the benefits of my invention without copying the structure shown and I, therefore, claim all such in so far as they fall within the reasonable spirit and scope of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters" Patent is:

l. A guiding tube, a'tapered guiding nozzle at the end of the tube, a part of the nozzle being spring-pressed and adapted to yield to passage of stalks of greater size than the minimum size of the nozzle, a longitudinally located knife adapted to slit the stalk as it comes through the nozzle, guiding edges for the knife and guiding surfaces adjacent the knife adapted to spread slit edges of the stalk into a low arch, and feeding and resilient flattening rollers with which the stalk is engaged as it passes beyond the guiding surfaces.

2. A guiding tube, a tapered guiding nozzle at the end of the tube, a part of the nozzle being spring-pressed and adapted to yield to passage of stalks of greater size than the minimum size of the nozzle, a longitudinally located knife adapted to slit the stalk as it comes through the nozzle, guiding edges for the knife and guiding surfaces adjacent the knife adapted to spread slit edges of the stalk into a low arch, a top above the surfaces adapted to reduce the lift of the arch, and feeding and resilient flattening rollers by which the stalk is engaged as it passes beyond the guiding surfaces.

3. A guiding tube having a discharge opening,

the bottom of which is fixed and the upper part' of which is resiliently movable in combination with a slitting knife having fixed height relation to the bottom of the opening and guiding surfaces rigid with the knife and adapted to spread the slitted material.

JOSEPH J. MARCZAK, Generally known as Joseph J. Marta. 

